Primary Submission Category: Mental health/function
Rising Serious Mental Illness in Highly Educated Midlife and Older Adults
Authors: Kelsey Shaulis
Presenting Author: Kelsey Shaulis*
Mental illness prevalence is rising for all ages, but these trends are especially notable at midlife and older ages. Recent work highlights serious mental illness (SMI) prevalence is increasing especially quickly among older adults with any postsecondary education. The current study applies the concept of demographic metabolism (the theory that societies change as a result of the changing composition of their members) to model multi-dimensional population projections of US adults aged 35 and older who live with SMI from 1990 to 2050. The study aims to examine how the age, sex, and education structures of the population shape the prevalence of SMI in midlife and older adults. Base population projections are gathered from the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital. Corresponding prevalence rates of SMI are estimated using data from the 2005-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health based on a sample of approximately 40,000 adults per wave. Projections show an increase in the total number of midlife and older adults living with SMI by 2050. Growth in the number of adults living with SMI by education level mirrors the growth of the total population of adults by education level. Among adults with a postsecondary education, the prevalence of SMI remains stable. These results suggest that previously observed changes in SMI prevalence by education level can be understood through the movement of a greater number of adults into higher levels of education.